Bush's team of foreign-policy advisers, which was known within the campaign as the Vulcans. T o spend time with Rice is to see right away how she has such an ef- fect on people. "Condi is just an A -plus- plus-plus presence," one former Admin- istration official who knows her says. "She's the most gifted speaker and con- veyer of solid thoughts, in articulate form, of anybody I've ever met. I'd put her in the top quartile in terms of the thoughts themselves. But that's not her thing-her thing is presenting it." She appears impeccably organized and pre- pared, with a great mass of detail in her head which she has reduced to a simple, clear form. She is gracious, poised, and charming, and isn't stiff or puffed up with her own officialdom. She has a wide, easy smile and a comfortable man- , ,ti', " " .' . ': <'?tT>'} :li, ,'<<;,0!. .. .,. .,. v'.: !, ,<,-,,, i:'::. )t' f. 'F :::--!.& ,'Wi! J :::r: ; .. "1 L- iJ nero No question ever seems to catch her unaware or to set off a rambling, dis- jointed answer. She ties everything up in a neat package of certainty and convic- tion. Before Rice answers a question, there is a moment that recalls a figure skater-another of her youthful per- forming careers-taking a first look at the program for the day's competition. There's a barely visible nod, conveying something like "Yup-got it," and then comes a reply unerringly pitched to the level of detail and expertise where, she senses, the person she's talking to wishes to dwell. That may be one reason that, when I asked several people who know Rice to describe her thinking, I often got the feeling that they were really de- scribing themselves. George Shultz, a tough-minded for- mer labor negotiator, said, "She starts with saying, 'What are the interests of :'-: . the United States?' And she recognizes that what happens elsewhere is impor- tant to us. But she starts with the United States, as any thinker about foreign pol- icy should." John Ashcroft, the Administration's leading evangelical Christian, said, "I think she understands that America is a very; very important leader. We not only have the reputation of leading by power, we have the opportunity of leading by moral authority: the basic values of free- dom, opportunity, and dutJ" Colin Powell, the most multilateralist member of the Cabinet, said, referring to how the September 11th attacks had changed Rice's views, "I think there's perhaps a little greater understanding now, on the part of all of us, on the need for coalitions, and the need for working on problems with our friends." President George H. W. Bush, who . :--&:_.1 :E we'; f ." \?'.. ;,( >.,;;v. '1 ; :, \t 4 t;;j] .:_ .. bL{ v.k{.<:' iL, , ,. ,ii'";,;,:f!iL. r(i %3;,.", $; m Hi. "{ ..' ' : :::I :% fli :* Mf t7 m, : & $ < ,: .:' M , ", . .,.....,. ;"..;" -.........;N'.:.:..:.-. .,., }' . ^ ,... , ffi; .;. .;'x...... .. .L;t ,. J..- ; -:;: l t" I" J, "Late summer to earlyfall-that's myfavorite time of year. "